


Mills Home for Supernatural Strays

by BarPurple



Category: Supernatural
Genre: BAMF Jody Mills, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Magic, Post Season 10, Season/Series 10 Spoilers, Swearing, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-14 12:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4564125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's become a habit of late, taking in the stray kids the Winchesters find while out working the Family Business.<br/>Jody certainly wasn't expecting to find one in her own town.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set after 10.20 Angel Heart, runs with canon until the end of season 10 then will probably head off into AU.

“Come Jody. It’s just a creepy burnt out house; where one of your dead friends used to live and where some very weird stuff happened.”

Finishing her pep talk to herself, Sheriff Mills took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and got out of her patrol car. The kids of Sioux Falls didn’t mess around at the old Singer place, which was a blessing because the place was a death trap. The stacks of old junkers had rusted to the point where a light breeze could topple them. 

The report of a young drifter hanging around had come as a surprise, especially since the description didn’t match Sam or Dean. There was also nothing in the report about a black Chevy, so Jody was pretty sure this wasn’t the Winchester boys using Bobby’s place as a meeting spot. 

Finding where the drifter was camping didn’t take long; just a case of following the muddy boot prints behind some of the more stable car piles. For reasons best known to his cranky self, Bobby had connected two piles of cars by placing a trailer on the top like a door lintel. She cautiously walked under the trailer and spotted a makeshift shelter. There was a strong smell of paint, but that wasn’t that odd she guessed, some of Bobby’s old cans must be leaking nearby.

The very obvious muddy boot prints were actually the second set that Jody had spotted. The first set was very faint and led in the opposite direction. Yeah, now this screamed ‘I’m a trap’ in huge flashing lights. Standing still she let her eyes roam around the site a little more. A casual wanderer wouldn’t have spotted the trip wire closer to the shelter and that would have ended up with them wearing a bucket of mud. Deciding to go with her mom instinct rather than her cop one, Jody put her hands on her hips and began gently tapping her foot.

“Okay kid I might be a small town sheriff, but I ain’t dumb enough to walk into that trip wire. Come on out now.”

The sounds of movement she’d been expecting came from behind her. Slowly turning round she confirmed her mom suspicion that she was dealing with a runaway. He was about 15 or 16, had shaggy brown hair and still looked pretty well cared for, so was most likely new to the streets. There was something naggingly familiar in his stance.

“Hey kid.”

“Hi Sheriff. The trap wouldn’t have hurt anyone, it’s just mud.”

He sounded almost desperate that she know his intentions weren’t fatal.

“Very ‘Home Alone’. What’s your name kid?”

There was slight pause. She guessed the kid was making up a fake name for himself.

“Ben.”

“I’m Sheriff Mills.”

The kid didn’t look as worried about her job as most runaways on the lamb from Child Services. That feeling that he was familiar just wouldn’t go away.

“What are you doing hanging around here? It’s not the safest place in the world.”

The kid looked wistfully around at the scrap cars. He gave her a weak smile and twiddled the cuff of his sleeve in his fingers.

“My dad once brought us here ‘cause it was the safest place in the world. Guess that changed just like everything else.”

The kid’s tone was part heartbreakingly sad and part bitter as hell, which pretty much confirmed he was a runaway. Jody might have been aching to give him a hug, but she was focused on the fact his dad had brought them here. There were plenty of hunters who had used Bobby’s as a safe house back in the day, but the number who would have a kid this age, well she could count them on one hand.

“Who’s your dad kid?”

“Dean Winchester.”

Jody was pretty sure she managed not to roll her eyes. Even if she had she didn’t think the kid would have noticed. He kept glancing up at the trailer roof over her head. A sneaking suspicion formed.

“Well I have Bobby’s old address book, so if you come with me we can try and find a number for your Dad.”

She nodded towards the shelter as if to say get your stuff. The kid didn’t move, but a runaway being skittish wasn’t unusual. His eyes flicked towards the trailer again. Slowly Jody looked up, well that explained the paint smell.

“Nice Devil’s Trap kid.”

She didn’t walk directly towards him, but she did step deliberately out of the confines of the trap. The kid relaxed a little, but not completely.

“Christo. Does that help? There are other tests we can do to prove we’re both human if you’d like.”

“You know about this stuff?”

Jody chuckled and nodded.

“More than I ever wanted too. You going to trust me enough to come back to my place? I can call your Dad and tell him to get his dumbass here ASAP.”

The kid’s eye lit up, figuratively not literally, there was something hungry in the gleam that made Jody think she should make sure this family reunion went down sans weapons. 

“You know my Dad?”

“Well enough to tan his hide for never telling me he’s got a kid.”

The kid looked awkward and pulled his backpack out from behind the cars he was standing next to. As he slung the strap over his head he stared at Jody and she saw the moment he came to a decision.

“Dean thinks I don’t remember him. He worked some mojo to try and keep Mom and me safe from the real evil out there. It didn’t last and I need his help.”

Jody’s sigh was the only indication as to her feelings on Dean’s idea of ‘safe’. She made a mental note to move anything breakable before these two got together. She’d put good money on this not being a tears and hugs kind of meeting.

“Come on then Ben. I think we’re going to need food and hot chocolate to work this out.”

Ben grinned and fell into step with Jody. She spared a glance towards where Bobby’s house had stood.

Oh Bobby, what has that idjit boy of yours done this time?


	2. Chapter 2

Jody watched Ben carefully as he walked into her house. He didn’t trigger any of her non-human traps and the cocky grin he gave her as he drank the glass of water she offered him had so much of Dean in it she couldn’t help but smile.

“I spotted the Devils Trap under the mat on the porch; your door handle is silver and I guess I just drank holy water. So, you know I’m not a demon, werewolf or shifter.”

“You’re also not an angel.”

Ben turned towards the stairs to see a blonde girl leaning on the banister. He cocked an eyebrow at her and she answered his unasked question.

“There’s some Enochian warding on the door that lets us know if you’re playing host to one of the Host.”

“Cool.”

Jody sighed and not for the first time wondered how her life had got to the point that this kind of talk was normal.

“Claire, this is Ben. He’ll be staying here for a while.”

Claire came down the stairs, giving Ben the once over. She stopped on the bottom step and tilted her head to one side.

“Who’d the Winchesters kill this time?”

Ben met her eyes and softly said.

“My mom, I think.”

Claire nodded and gave him a sad smile.

“I know the feeling.”

Jody pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, the poor kid had more of a story to tell than she’d thought. It would be nice if she hadn’t heard the basic plot before and it would be even nicer if there was just a slim chance for a happy ending. She looked up at the touch on her arm. Claire had moved silently towards her, the girl had to be part cat.

“I’ll make the hot chocolate while you call the asshats.”

Ben laughed.

“Wow, my Dad sure makes a great impression on people, don’t he?”

Ben and Claire were sat around the kitchen table by the time Jody got done on the phone. She’d left a message for Sam. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t just called Dean and chewed him out about never mentioning his kid. The eldest Winchester was still giving off damn strange vibes and that was saying something. It had just felt right to go to Sammy first on this one, at least until she knew where Dean’s head was at right now.

“Where’s Anne?”

Claire looked up and smiled.

“She’ll be home it a few.”

Jody nodded, not sure if Claire was lying to her or not, but deciding at the moment she had other things to worry about. The trouble that her eldest ward was getting into now could wait a little while, hopefully. She sat herself down between the kids and took a sip of her hot chocolate.

“Claire’s been dying to grill me Sheriff. If you wait much longer to get the full skinny on me I think she’ll combust.”

Jody watched as Claire forced herself to lean back in her chair as if Ben’s story wasn’t the most interesting thing in the world. Ben calmly blew on his hot chocolate and took a sip. After he’d set the cup squarely on the coaster he took a deep breath and started telling his tale.

It took only ten minutes to relate the story of how Dean came into his life trailing the supernatural in his wake. Ben smiled as he told of the year they lived as a normal family. Claire tensed up when she heard of Castiel’s role in wiping those happy memories from the minds of the Braedens. Jody knew the girl couldn’t have stopped the question she asked if you’d paid her.

“How did the Castiel’s mind trick break?”

Ben shrugged and fiddled with the coaster that held his cooling cup. 

“I think it had something to do with the attack. A new guy started coming into the gym Mom was working at. Old guy called himself Marv signed up for the seniors’ yoga class. He dropped by our house on night with three big guys and forced their way in. They knocked Mom out before I got to her. Just touched her forehead and she hit the deck. They tried it on me and…”

Ben tailed off for a second as he closed his eyes against the tears that Jody could see collecting in his eyes. He gave a sniff and shook his head. When he continued his voice was firm and steady again.

“They tried the same thing on me, but instead all this blue light appeared around me and they all vanished. One of the heavies was holding Mom and she went with them. After that I could remember Dean and Sam and Mr Singer and I knew all of this weird shit to protect myself against evil.”

Jody found herself speechless. Her urge to hug Ben was over whelming, but she just grasped the hand that was lying on the table top. He looked surprised at the touch but gave her hand a little squeeze before pulling away. It was Claire who managed to give Ben real comfort, by explaining some of what had happened.

“It sounds like you were attacked by angels. The touch to the head is their kind of thing. Since they took your Mom I think she was just asleep not dead.”

Claire gave a small smile and half shrug, it wasn’t the most positive news but Ben looked relieved to hear it anyway. Claire was chewing her lip. It was a tell Jody had picked up on, it usually meant she was about to suggest something she expected to get shot down. Jody had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be the normal trying to extend curfew.

“It sounds like Cas put a get out clause in whatever mojo he worked on you, something that would trigger if you ever had crazy trouble. I don’t know why the same didn’t work for your Mom.”

“Don’t knock it kid. A fifty percent survival rate is pretty good for the Winchesters.”

The three of them turned at the sound of the new voice. Anne was leaning up against the doorframe her arms across her chest and a wry smile on her face.

“I’m Anne, just one more of the Winchester orphans.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchesters are driving Jody mad and the kids are adding to her stress.

Two months later Jody was just about ready to abuse her police powers and start a nationwide man hunt for Sam and Dean bloody Winchester. She hadn’t heard anything from Dean at all and her last contact with Sam had been a quick phone call explaining that stuff was complicated at the moment. Apart from raising her blood pressure that last call had confirmed that Sam hadn’t told Dean about Ben’s appearance in Sioux Falls.

Ben needed to talk to Dean; there were more unanswered questions bouncing around in his mind than any teenager should have to deal with. It drove Jody crazy that the only person who could hope to give him any answers didn’t even know he was here. She called all of Sam’s numbers, leaving increasingly angry voicemails, explaining that if she didn’t hear from them by the end of the week she was calling Dean. Dammit, she’d even considered summoning Crowley to find out where the hell the Winchesters were. Well, she’d considered it for all of three minutes, which was at least two and a half minutes too long to think about asking the King of Hell for help.

Jody would be the first to admit that she had missed having a family, but her little boy hadn’t made it to his teenage years. Suddenly having three troubled teens under her care was exhausting. She’d been expecting the normal problems that had cropped up; Anne smoking pot, Claire getting into a disagreement with a teacher and Ben’s blasting the roof off with ACDC, were plain sailing and things she could chat to other parents about. It gave her an anchor in reality that she appreciated, because with all the weird shit she’d seen it was good to know that there were some areas of her life that were ordinary.

Last week’s escapade was something that most parents would never have to imagine, no matter what kind of teenage tearaway they had raised. Jody found herself reaching for a beer just thinking about it.

 

**Last Week**

 

Anne was studying the laptop screen over Claire’s shoulder. They both looked up as Ben walked in. Claire’s rapid click on the laptop told him the girls were up to something, to work out if it was something they were hiding from him or Jody he casually said:

“Jody’s not home yet.”

There was a slight easing of tension in Claire’s face that he only noticed because he was looking for it. Anne had a much better poker face, which was helping Ben master the game. The three of them weren’t exactly firm friends yet, but they were bonding thanks to their shared colourful pasts and legally grey current interests. 

Ben grabbed a soda from the fridge as Anne and Claire shared a meaningful look. He’d got used to the way the girls could communicate without words, and found it comforting in some way because it reminded him of Sam and Dean. After a moment Claire used her foot to push out another chair at the table. Ben smiled and sat down.

“So, what are you two plotting?”

Anne slid into a seat opposite him and grinned.

“We think we’ve found a little something we can take care of.”

Claire swivelled the laptop towards him and he scanned the police report she hacked into. Claire’s computer skills were developing at a stunning rate. Ben had only been in the house for four days when she’d sorted a fake ID and back story for him. The paperwork was good enough that Jody was able to enrol him in school. Sioux Falls High was happy to take another of Jody’s cousins who come to stay while their parents worked overseas. 

The police report described a recent murder just outside Jody’s jurisdiction. Ben had seen the headlines, but the police hadn’t revealed to the press was that the victim had been drained of his blood.

“Fang?”

“That’s what it looks like to me.”

Anne was obviously an expert on vampires, so Ben was quite happy to take her word for it. 

“There’s another missing person reported today. Last seen at the same bar as the first vic. Anne thinks the fang is using the bar to pick up dinner.”

Claire clicked the laptop and showed Ben a map of the area near the bar. It was at the edge of town and surrounded by woodland and open fields. Ben considered the lay out for a moment.

“We’ll have to scope the area out, none of us can act as bait, we don’t fit the victim profile.”

Anne nodded impressed; Ben’s thinking was in perfect sync with Claire and hers. Anne had been unsure of Ben when he first explained that Dean was his dad. The Winchesters made her a bit uncomfortable, even after they’d saved her life. It hadn’t taken her long to see that Ben was different; he actually gave a damn about the people around him in a more human way than Sam or Dean. When she’d tried to explain this to him Ben had shrugged and put the bothers disconnection down to dealing with too much biblical crap. Having to fight the big picture for so long was bound to mean they lost touch with the details. Anne took it as the only explanation she’d get that made a lick of sense. She pushed thoughts of the older hunters away and focused on Claire as she brought Ben up to speed with the plan they’d come up with.

“We don’t want Jody to find out what we’re planning, so we need to check the area out without her knowing. There’s nothing in the way of CCTV nearby, so we’re going to have to do it the old fashioned way.  
”  
“Go there and physically look for the nest. I’ve narrowed the area down and Claire’s marked the likely buildings on the map. We think we should be able to skip school tomorrow and start the search.”

Ben nodded.

“So we go to homeroom as normal then split and go hunting?”

Claire and Anne shared another look; Ben’s refinement to the plan was good. By showing up for homeroom there was less chance of the school contacting Jody early in the day. Claire emailed Ben the map of the area and spotted the time on the screen. 

“Jody’ll be back soon, guess we should start acting normal.”

Claire closed her laptop down and pulled a pack of cards out of her pocket. The other two teens grinned as Claire started dealing a hand of poker. Ben stood up and grabbed a family bag of M&Ms from the cupboard.

“This is normal for us.”

 

*****

 

Jody had played that evening over in her mind again and again, trying to work out if there was something she’d missed, some little clue that work have told her what the kids were planning. Finally she’d decided that she’d not missed anything, those kids were just too damn good at presenting a mask to the world. It was sad that it didn’t really surprise her.

 

*****

 

Anne was waiting by her car, looking cool as a cucumber, as Ben strolled up to her. They shared a quick grin.

“Where’s Claire?”

“She’ll be here, her homeroom teacher always makes them late. Man is a total scatterbrain.”

Ben took the keys out of Anne’s hand and checked the trunk. Anne had parked so a chestnut tree obscured the back of the car from the school’s cameras. Inside, under the spare tire they had all the equipment they’d need to take out a nest, including three zip lock bags that held something squishy and organic. Ben poked one just as Claire came up behind him.

“Careful. That’s rat scent glands.”

Ben pulled his hand back and wiped it on his jeans. Anne rolled her eyes at him.

“They’ll mask our scent. Humans stink to fangs, but with enough rat smell it can mask it, a bit.”

Ben’s raised eyebrows plainly say ‘What the hell?’

“A hobo once got into the nest. Guy just wanted somewhere dry to sleep, but his clothes were soaked with rat piss, so when the fangs heard shuffling and smelt rat that’s what they thought it was. The hobo had been in the nest for about four days before they found him.”

Ben’s eyebrows dropped and he shrugged.

“Okay. I guess I’ll be racing you ladies to the shower when this is done.”

They shared a laugh as they got into the car. Only experienced hunters would have heard the slight twang of nervous the merry sound covered.

 

*****

 

Less than an hour later they had found the bar and by sheer dumb luck found the vampires as well. There were two fangs and they were running the bar and living in a trailer out back.

“Dropping bodies were they live and work? Not the shiniest fangs on the planet then?”

Claire gave Ben a look that made him shut his trap and tip her a salute. She didn’t need to say that these two dumbasses could rip his throat out, she didn’t need to tell him to stop joking around; it was all there in that look. 

“Right, we’ll scope out the trailer and make sure there’s only the two of them first.”

Anne slipped out of the car and popped the trunk. Ben and Claire joined her as she smeared a bag of rat gloop around her neck and under her arms.

“Rub it where you sweat a lot.”

Ben and Claire followed Anne’s lead with varying grimaces of disgust on their faces. After they’d wiped their hands clean on the rags Anne had packed just for that they armed up and headed towards their prey.

 

*****

 

Killing the vamps had been quick and easy. There were only two of them and they hadn’t twitched as Claire eased open the unlocked door. In less than thirty seconds Ben and Anne had slipped inside and decapitated the fangs. There was a tense moment when Anne needed a second blow to severe the head from the shoulders, but other than that it was perfect.   
Getting rid of the bodies was dealt with by Anne and Claire setting up a timer to blow the trailers gas bottles. Ben decided he had to get them to teach him how to do that, because it was better than sloshing lighter fuel around and throwing a match at the place. They piled back into the car and drove away ten miles under the speed limit. The trees hid the fireball, but they heard the explosion and finally breathed out. They were still laughing and riding the adrenaline high when they got back home. 

The post hunt high could be why they didn’t notice Jody sat in the living room until she asked;

“And where the bloody hell have you three been? Oh my god is that your blood? What is that stink?”

Jody had run towards the kids as soon as she’d spotted the blood, but the stink made her recoil a few steps. Ben and Anne looked down at their clothes and noticed the blood stains for the first time. Ben watched as Anne’s posture went from happy to stroppy. Claire’s hackles were up as well. In his first few weeks here he witnessed some epic shouting matches between the three women. Usually it wasn’t anything more than normal family shit, but this was bigger and he just knew that if the shouting started it wouldn’t end well for anyone. He took a deep breath and gently moved himself between Jody and the girls.

“We took out a couple of fangs that had started dropping bodies.”

Jody’s mouth opened and closed a few times and her faces displayed an interesting range of emotions.

“Why?”

“They were fangs. Monsters. It’s what we do.”

“You are kids! You shouldn’t be hunting at all!”

Ben could practically hear the tension and anger strumming through Jody. The fact he was getting a similar feeling from the girls behind him didn’t make him feel any safer.

“We might be young, but we can’t unlearn what we know about the world. We saw the truth in the news story and had to check it out. It was a clean hunt. Jody.”

“Apart from our clothes.”

Jody laughed at Anne’s wry comment and some of the tension eased out of the room. There might still be some yelling and cussing, but Ben was pretty sure they were passed the meltdown point.

“What is that stink?”

“Let us get cleaned up and we’ll talk. Okay?”

 

*****

 

Jody felt proud when she remembered how easily Ben had diffused the tension. The situation had the potential to blow up in a seriously unpleasant way. She might not be thrilled that the kids were hunting, but she could understand their reasons; she shared most of them. Once you’d had your eyes forcibly opened to the supernatural it was impossible to turn your back on it. You killed the monsters so you could keep meeting your eye in the mirror each day. It was a life that you fell into usually with a tragic story and risking your neck somehow kept the personal demons from multiplying.

The four of them had reached an agreement that night. The kids wouldn’t sneak off on hunts anymore. It added to Jody’s worries, but at least she knew what they were doing and could support them as best she could. It was a crazy, messed up arrangement, but she knew if she’d tried to stop them from hunting then she would have lost them. It might have taken a few weeks, but the kids would have left to make it on their own in the world. 

The idea of an empty house again was something that Jody refused to think about.


	4. Chapter 4

Years later when she looked back on that day Jody always felt an immense surge of tiredness, as if she was still paying the price for those sleepless, adrenaline-fueled and terror filled twenty-four hours. It wouldn’t surprise her if the world was still trying to regain its balance, after all that day, the day the Darkness came, changed everything.

***

Two weeks passed since the kids’ first hunting trip. Jody had grudgingly admitted that she was impressed by the way they had disposed of any evidence and the bodies. 

“Do I need to worry about the internet history? Are we on any watch lists?”

Claire had grinned at Jody and shook her head. 

“Fine, In that case I won’t ask where you learnt to rig a timed detonator and you won’t tell me. Okay?”

Claire pantomimed locking her lips and throwing away the key. 

There had been only one more hunt in that fortnight, a simple salt and burn ghost. It was still radio silence from the Winchesters, until that afternoon while they were all watching a film in the lounge. Claire cussed and face palmed.

“Excuse me?”

Jody’s eyes had gone wide at Claire’s potty mouth. Ben and Anne were sniggering into their popcorn.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. He always knows where the Winchesters are! All I’ve got to do is pray to him!”

A moment of puzzled silence passed before Anne got impatient and asked.

“Who’s that now?”

Jody snapped her fingers and groaned as the penny dropped.

“Castiel.”

Ben’s excited hope showed on his face clearly for a full two seconds before he schooled his features to reveal no more than interest.

“That might work. Will you give it a try?”

Claire gave a nod and sat back down on the edge of the couch. She took a deep breath in …

_In a distant warehouse the King of Hell’s day was about to get a whole lot worse.  
“'m afraid, Fergus, that in all your long life, you've never seen what a real witch can do with real magic.”_

Claire dropped her head and loosely clasped her hands together. She cleared her throat a little self-consciously before beginning.

“Castiel hear my prayer…

_“Dele malum hoc.”_

“…we need you and the Winchesters here in Sioux Falls…”

_…Castiel. Don't. …_

“…It’s important. Pick up the phone Castiel. Amen.”

 

There was a tense silence as everyone held their breath waiting for something to happen. Anne was restlessly looking around the room in case Cas appeared out of thin air, so she missed Claire going rigid.

“Claire!”

Ben’s voice was tinged with panic. Anne turned to her friend and then moved away from her so fast she might have flown.

“What the hell is wrong with her eyes?”

Claire’s eyes were glowing, made bright blue with heavenly light.

Jody choke back her own panic and carefully reached out towards her. She knew that Claire had briefly been Cas’ vessel and since he was the angel she’d just prayed too it was a fair guess that this had everything to do with him.

“Castiel?”

Claire’s head turned so quickly Jody winced.

“Get Crowley.”

The voice that came from Claire’s mouth wasn’t her own. The words were delivered almost through gritted teeth; a desperate plea for the King of Hell. Jody didn’t understand why this was happening, but if calling that rat bastard Crowley was needed then she’d do it. There was a subtle change to Jody’s stance and even without them being aware of it both Ben and Anne knew that she’d just shifted into sheriff mode. It was no surprise when the next words out of Jody were delivered with sure authority.

“Ben in the bottom drawer of my desk there’s a box. Fetch it. Anne go get your hunting bag.”

Jody felt a second of pride that the kids both jumped into action without asking any silly questions. Claire was still sitting perfectly straight on the sofa. Her eyes burned blue, but there were traces of red swirling within them now. Cautiously Jody edged closer and flinched back rapidly when Claire growled at her.

“Get. Crowley. Now.”

“We will get him. Castiel if this is you, stop it. You’re hurting Claire.”

Jodie wasn’t sure if the heavenly light flickered just a little, but Claire slowly nodded once.

“Get Crowley Fast.”

That said Claire’s eyes cleared and she flopped back on the sofa. Anne slid into the room a bare step in front of Ben, each of them clutching the things Jody had sent them for. Ben swept his arm along the coffee table scattering popcorn and DVD cases across the floor. Before Jody could take the box from him he started drawing out the spell work for the summoning. Jody cocked an eyebrow at him.

“What? Thought it might come in handy. That’s why you had this stuff already to go isn’t it?”

If she was honest with herself Jody wasn’t sure why she’d gathered the spell together. Crowley wasn’t someone she wanted to see again, ever, but she’d still put that box together and kept it close to hand. Jody shrugged at Ben and turned to Claire. The girl was shaking a little, but was helping Anne check the salt and load the water pistols with holy water.

“You okay Claire?”

Jody thought seeing Claire’s eyes flare blue had been scary, but it was nothing to the rage she glimpsed in them now. Claire bit her lip and shook her head.

“I feel so angry.”

“Not surprised. I’d be pissed if an angel decided to pop into my skull like that. Don’t he know how to use a phone?”

Claire frown a little at Anne. It was nice that her friend was irate on her behalf, but it still didn’t explain why Cas’ presence had made her feel this way. There was a burning itch in her mind that she had to get Crowley and beat him to within an inch of his unlife. There was no reason behind it, just the need, a raw urge that she was having difficulty quelling.  
Jody grabbed her shotgun and the salt filled shells she kept nearby. She gave each of the kids a quick look that each of them answered with a nod. Her glance lingered on Claire who was strung so tight it looked like she might snap. Jody pushed her concerns away and gave Ben the nod to begin. He struck the match and dropped the flame into the bowl of herbs.

 

****

 

Many miles away in an abandoned warehouse Crowley was begging for his life. He was very attached to his continued existence and felt no shame at all in begging for it.   
It did strike him as typical of the universe’s sense of humour that it was the bloody trench coated angel getting slowly closer to ripping his throat out. They been in a similar position before and Crowley had survived that time. True Castiel had only been juicing on the power of Purgatory’s souls that time and hadn’t actually wanted to obliterate him, but the concept was broadly similar. 

The problem at the moment was that his witch bitch mother had deprived him of his demonic powers. He couldn’t ever snap up enough of a flame to light a cigarette right now, let alone teleport away from the danger. Crowley had relied on his words to weasel him out of tight spots before, but that strategy is heavily dependent on your attacker being able to listen to reason. Mr Reason was not at home in the head of the angel.

Castiel was putting up a fight against the spells Rowena had cast on him. Instead of charging in for the kill he was prowling to and fro just out of punching distance. He couldn’t be sure because of the animalistic growling, but it sound like Cas was trying to speak. The fact that some of the slurred syllables sounded like his own name was not filled Crowley with confidence.  
Crowley suddenly felt the prickle of a summoning spell. Most of the time the King of Hell would ignore spells demanding his presence. There was something unbecoming of a King who popped up at the mere burning of a few simple herbs. This spell had a familiar flavour, almost like he knew the caster. Without thinking Crowley reached out along the magic and then realized that he could access the magic. Oh wonderful, the summoning was a backdoor out of Mummy’s spell traps. It made a sort of sense; summoning spells were older and stronger than the stuff that was trapping him here. With a cocky grin Crowley pulled his tie straight and raised his hand, fingers poised to snap.

“Got to fly. See later Cas.”

The howl the tore from Castiel’s throat stopped the hearts of the vermin scuttling about the vacant warehouse.


End file.
